


101 Ways To Court A Princess

by millieglitch



Category: Ever After High
Genre: F/F, Homophobia, Internalized Homophobia
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-22
Updated: 2020-10-23
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:28:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,447
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27153178
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/millieglitch/pseuds/millieglitch
Summary: Darling’s known she’s gay for Forever After, at this point. But that doesn’t make it any less problematic - especially after she (accidentally) figures out she’s the True Love of the most important Princess in Ever After.Apple is terrified of this new bend in the once straight path of her fairytale. With the help of her friends, can she come to accept this twist of fate, and open her arms to a new form of True Love?tl;dr darling and apple post dragon games stuff
Relationships: Darling Charming/Apple White
Comments: 9
Kudos: 85





	101 Ways To Court A Princess

**Author's Note:**

> will i finish this? perhaps. i have lots of plans to write stuff for lots of other sapphic eah ships but will they come to fruition? probably not. 
> 
> posted this on mobile. apparently that makes the formatting suck so sorry
> 
> enjoy :)

Princesses, from birth, were raised to be perfect little damsels: to sit passively in peril and wait for their prince to save them.

There were two reasons why Darling Charming would never fit that role. 

Firstly: she had a chronic thirst for adventure. As a child, she’d sit with her mother and watch her brothers, Dexter and Daring, practice swordplay in the yard. She remembered asking if she could give it a try.

“Absolutely not,” Was her mother’s scathing reply. “What need do you have for swinging a sword around? You’re a princess.” Even at that young age, something about that made her blood boil.

So, once she was a tween, she’d had Dexter take her out by nightfall so she could try it. It was originally meant to be just to spite her mother, but.. She’d taken to it fantastically, knocking her brother down countless times on the first night alone.

She’d kept practicing, until the night she brought Daring along, too. She’d just wanted a bigger challenge than Dexter: her older brother had far outclassed her twin in this department. But Daring was always the favourite. He’d never had any trouble from their parents. So he told their father, not knowing the consequences. And Darling’s curfew was tightened. 

But then, all of a sudden, she was free of her parents. Of her mother’s eyes always on her back. Because she was going to Ever After High. Security was far easier to get through there. She’d go to the heroics court and practice for hours by nightfall- Until she was almost caught.

She’d ran from the group of heroes coming out late to practice. Straight into the woods. She clearly hadn’t been acute enough as a knight then, because she’d tripped straight into a rabbit hole, and fallen into Wonderland. The White Knight found her, and, to her astonishment, agreed to train her. She’d always liked Wonderland’s looser rules and stereotypes. There, it wasn’t out of the question for a Princess to swing a blade and be a hero. 

Anyway. Instead of running to the Heroics Grounds every night, she was hustling her way to Wonderland, growing into the next White Knight. And with that, came a new passion for saving damsels. Covered by the White Knight armour, she didn’t have to worry about being called out. She started taking Daring’s role in Damsel-In-Distressing. Questing in Wonderland. Breaking all of the strict guidelines for Princesshood that had been instilled in her since birth. 

Which then made her realise the second problem.

Darling was a lesbian.

Only a few people knew about it, but that didn’t make it any less real.

Dexter was the first person she’d told. Who she’d talked to about these feelings. He was her twin brother: of course he was accepting, despite how out of the norm it was. He had been a constant comfort while she’d been figuring all this out.

During the whole Spring Festival fiasco, Darling had helped Ginger Breadhouse when she was in trouble, which led to Ginger catching feelings for the mysterious White Knight. Darling thought she had a right to know who she was really falling for, and after that, it somehow became a short fling, before they had both moved on.

Of course, during that relationship, her roommate, Rosabella Beauty, had eventually caught on to why Darling brought Ginger back to their room so often. She’d talked to Darling about it, and was surprisingly okay with it - after insisting to Darling that she was straight, of course.

Darling honestly didn’t know how Maddie Hatter found out about it. She’d just dropped the fact into casual conversation. Thankfully only Raven Queen was there to overhear, but it had scared the hex out of Darling nonetheless. When she’d asked Maddie how she knew, she’d just said something about narrators. It was that weird side of Wonderland Darling didn’t think she’d ever get her head around.

And, while she didn’t know at the time, she was incredibly lucky that Raven had been the one to overhear. Not only was she the head of the Rebels - Darling was a Rebel, obviously - and therefore she understood somewhat, but she roomed with Apple White.

Darling had a crush on Apple. How could she not? The most popular girl in school, head of the Debate Team and the Student Council, heir to the throne of Ever After- And not only that; but she was smart, passionate, driven, and she and Darling agreed on a lot of things. She really was the fairest of them all, and Darling was smitten.

But it was the things that had caused her to catch feelings in the first place that were what made those feelings such a problem. 

Apple had the most important fairytale in Ever After, and she was to be Queen. Someone like that couldn’t be gay even if they wanted to, and she clearly didn’t want to: she was head of the Royals. She was following her fairytale destiny right to the last page. So Darling could never be her Prince Charming.

It was quite a cruel twist of fate, actually, that Apple’s prince was Daring. Not only was it her brother, but it was the brother she’d never felt safe to confide in. She wanted to talk to Daring about it - really, she did - but she couldn’t. Not after he’d told their father about her sword practice. So she watched them from afar. Was she happy that her brother would get his Happily Ever After? Absolutely, but that didn’t stop it from hurting.

Anyway, after the whole business with Courtly Jester, the Red Knight had practically forced Darling to reveal her first secret - the fact that she was the White Knight of Wonderland - to pretty much the entire school. This made it far harder for her to sneak off to Wonderland during breaks, so she mostly just spent them in the library. 

She’d been reading a book on Heroics when Apple White herself came hurrying up to her table. “Darling!” She called brightly, smiling at Darling like she was everything she’d ever been looking for.

Darling sputtered - unprincess-ly - and slammed her book shut, turning it over to hide the cover. Old habits died hard, she supposed. She smiled sweetly at Apple like she hadn’t just panicked majorly. “What do you need, Apple?” She evened out her voice as best she could, trying not to seem too flustered. Last time they’d been alone together was in Apple’s Wonderland meeting, where Darling had stumbled and stuttered and made a real fool of herself. She was determined not to do that again. 

“Well,” Apple began, as she sat herself down in the seat beside Darling’s, “Dexter told Raven who told me that you’re wonderful at research!” Her smile became a conspirator’s grin. “Or should I say, wonderlandiful?” She giggled, a hand going in front of her mouth. The way her face warmed when she laughed made Darling’s heart pound. 

Darling grinned laxly, trying to at least seem calm. “I mean, I’m not awful. What do you need help with?” She wouldn’t exactly call herself wonderlandiful at research, as Apple had put it, but she certainly knew her way around the library. 

Apple rolled her eyes, an easy smile on her face. “I’m sure you didn’t get to top of the class in Damsel-In-Distressing without some skill at revising, right?” She arched a brow, and something in Darling fluttered at being under her gaze. “We’re doing a project on courting Princes in Princessology, do you know any good books on that?”

The thought of courting a Prince made Darling’s stomach turn, but she nodded. “Yeah, follow me.” She got to her feet, leading Apple through the library. First level, back right corner. “I‘m surprised you’re not studying with Briar. Isn’t she throwing one of her study parties for this topic?” She asked, as they reached the Courtship section of the library.

Apple shook her head, wearing a fond grin. “No, she’s too busy regular partying.” She chuckled, expression turning sheepish. “I’m not going, because I’ve got to keep my grades up. I am Apple White, after all.” Yikes. And Darling thought she had pressure from her family. 

Darling ran a finger along the books in the shelf, stopping when she reached ‘101 Ways To Court A Princess’, before realising her company and quickly moving to its neighbour, ‘101 Ways To Court A Prince’. Blegh. She took the book out and handed it to Apple. “Here, this should have more than enough to help.”

Apple opened the book up to the contents page, her eyes lighting up as they scanned through it. “Darling, this is perfect!” She exclaimed, making Darling unable to help but flush pink. Apple shut the book and grinned brightly. “Ah, if you need help with anything, feel free to ask me!” She blushed softly. “Especially after everything in Wonderland, I’m really in your debt.”

Darling shook her head, perhaps too hastily. “No, it’s fine.” She gestured awkwardly. “I mean, isn’t it the Princess way to pay it forward? Do a good deed for someone else, and I’ll be satisfied.” She leaned softly back against the bookcase, smiling softly at Apple. Godmother, Apple made her feel soft.

Apple’s eyes widened in surprise, before she determinedly nodded. “That’s just right, Darling!” She called joyfully, as she clasped one of Darling’s hands in both of hers. “Thank you again!” She let go, and turned to leave, a spring in her step.

“Charm you later!” Darling called after her, letting her get a safe distance away before blushing profusely. Fairy Godmother, the only person sweeter than Apple was Ginger, and that was only because she was literally made of gingerbread. Darling turned back to the bookshelf, and pulled out the book she’d passed over earlier.

‘101 Ways To Court A Princess’.

She stuffed it in her bag before anyone could’ve seen it, and left the library. 

-

After classes’ end, Darling headed back to the room she shared with Rosabella. As soon as she pulled the door open, she was hit with an outburst from her roommate. “Darling!” Rosabella called, voice high and determined. She hurried toward the doorway in which Darling stood, holding out a clipboard and quill. “Will you sign my petition to save the pegasi? They’re a really rare species right now and-“

“Of course.” Darling lightly laughed, taking the quill and giving a neat signature. She and her brothers all signed things ‘D. Charming’, mostly as a little inside joke to confuse people. “Pegasus-ses are spelltacular, I’d love to ride one someday.” She huffed a little, as Rosabella retracted the clipboard and let her enter their dorm. “Well, I wouldn’t wanna feel like I’m betraying Herowing or anything, but still.”

Rosabella smiled brightly, running a finger down the list of signatures. “I should definitely ask Ashlynn to sign, I’m sure she’d know a whole bunch of other people who’d want to, too..” She walked over to her bed, and placed the clipboard on the bedside cabinet.

Darling sat down on her bed, and began emptying her bag of books. A few Heroics handbooks, adventure novels, and that Princess courtship book - which would probably be her next read. Rosabella paced over, and sat down on the edge of Darling’s bed to peer at the books. 

“Y’know, you really should bug Headmaster Grimm to let you take Heroics classes.” Rosabella picked up one of the Heroics handbooks as she spoke, brushing a hand down the cover, which bore a picture of a valiant knight battling a troll. “I bet you’d even outclass Daring at it.” She said with a fond chuckle and a soft blush.

Darling raised her eyebrows. “He wouldn’t let me. For starters, the only other girl in that class is Poppy O’Hair - and that’s only because she doesn’t have a destiny.” She looked off, trying not to appear as angry as she felt. “My destiny’s to be a damsel. Damsels aren’t supposed to be Heroes, and save people. They’re the ones that’re meant to be saved.” She shrugged apathetically. “Besides. If I tell Grimm, he’ll tell my parents, and Godmother knows what they’d do.” She said, with a touch of fear. 

Rosabella frowned, and sadly nodded. “Unfortunately, I think you’re right.” She rummaged through the books, looking for an opportunity to change the subject and perk up Darling. “What’s this-?” She asked, picking up the Princess courtship book. “Woah. You planning to use some of the techniques in this?” She raised her eyebrows with a grin. 

Godmother, everyday Darling thanked whatever power had let Rosabella be accepting of her sexuality. Sure, at first things had been a little awkward, and Rosabella had sort of kept her at arm’s length, but the gap had closed, and they’d returned to being comfortable friends - and now Darling had someone she could easily talk to about her feelings. “Yeah. Maybe I’ll actually be able to go out with another girl with some of those.” She grinned, shuffling closer to Rosabella as the future Beauty opened the book. 

Inside were mostly methods Princes had used on Darling herself in the past: stuff like presenting the Princess with gifts, and doing Heroic deeds to impress her. Darling let out a sharp laugh, tapping a picture of two knights duelling for a maiden’s honour. “I’ve already got that one covered.” Winning the duel with the Red Knight had already proven her skill as a knight to all zero interested damsels. 

Rosabella chuckled, but quickly stopped as she flipped the page. “This is all really.. Impersonal?” She turned a few more pages, becoming impatient. “I mean sure, there’s some sweet stuff in here, like composing a love letter for your maiden, but mostly it’s just ‘do super dumb and reckless thing to impress girl’.” She stuck her tongue out, unimpressed. “There’s nothing sensitive here.”

Rosabella made a good point, Darling thought. “Maybe literature written by a braindead knight who got the girl on virtue of his destiny won’t be that helpful.” Darling decided, as Rosabella closed the book. “It was worth a look, though.” She stretched, looking to her roommate. “What kinda Prince do you look for, then?”

Rosabella sputtered, looking off with embarrassment. “I mean, I haven’t really dated around, or anything.” She shrugged, looking back with a nervous expression. “I dunno, I’d just want someone who.. Actually cares. Not just about me, but about.. Y’know, the wider world.” She smiled warmly. “I don’t do all the petitions and campaigns for nothing, and I just want someone who cares as much as I do.” She rubbed her neck, softly blushing. “But, uh, that’s kinda hard to come by.” She looked up at Darling with a smile. “What about you? What kinda, uh, Princess do you look for?”

Darling smiled sadly, and nodded. “Yeah, can’t be easy to find someone like that.” She folded her arms, looking off in thought. What was she looking for? “Honestly, I’d take pretty much any girl thrown at me, at this rate.” She laughed softly, before clearing her throat. “But, uh? Truthfully? I’d love a fairytale princess. A damsel I can rescue, y’know?” She blushed softly.

Rosabella pouted. “Girls aren’t just damsels for you to save, Darling.” She spoke with a warning tone, but there was lightheartedness to it.

Darling rolled her eyes, narrowing them slightly in jest. “Of course not, I know that better than anyone.” She unfolded her arms, moving her hands to lace together. “I mean, I’d want a Princess who’d want to adventure with me, and who’s sweet, and, well, y’know, all the basic stuff.” She shrugged, a sheepish smile on her face. “Given the amount of Princesses in Ever After, I don’t think I’m asking for much.” 

“If your standards are as low as you’re making them out to be, why didn’t it work out with Ginger?” Rosabella asked, raising her eyebrows curiously. “She’s sweet, and open to adventure, and she pretty much was a damsel.”

Darling huffed, shuffling awkwardly. “Well, for one thing, I was kinda a short-lived crush for her. What we had was never super serious, y’know?” She smiled fondly. “Ginger’s lovely, she really is, but I’m not, uh, in love with her, y’know?” She laced her fingers tighter together. “It’s sorta hard to explain.”

Rosabella hummed, nodding. “I think I understand. Kinda.” She giggled softly, fluttering her eyelashes. “So, do you have any crushes?” She put a hand in front of her hand effeminately, to emphasise the raw girliness of the subject.

Darling laughed, narrowing her eyes. “I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours.” If she’d been reading Rosabella’s blushes and shuffles right, her roommate absolutely had a crush on someone. Darling’s money was on Hunter, from Rosabella’s description of her ideal partner, despite how.. Problematic that would be. Hey, most of the Princes in Ever After High were taken anyway; it’s not like Rosabella had many single guys to pick from. 

Rosabella blushed profusely, pushing her arm in front of her face to cover her face. “How did you-?” She sputtered, before taking a heavy breath out. Easing up, she lowered her arm. “Fine.” She fidgeted, not meeting Darling’s gaze. “Daring.”

Woah, plot twist.

Darling chuckled softly, only making Rosabella blush more. “Well, first off, you have full permission to date my brother.” She lightly elbowed Rosabella in the side, before sobering a little. “But, uh, Daring’s pretty contradictory to your specifications.” She pointed out. Did Darling love her brother? Absolutely. But did Daring care about many things outside of his own reflection? No.

Rosabella sighed fondly, gazing out of the window. “I know, it’s just.. There’s something about him. I feel like he has the capacity to see farther than himself, but.. He just needs someone to help him discover it.” She tried to explain, gesturing lightly with one hand.

Darling wasn’t fully following, but she nodded. “Well, if anyone’s gonna perform that miracle, I’m sure it’ll be you.” She pat Rosabella’s shoulder with a friendly grin. 

Rosabella smiled, before her eyes narrowed. “Now you have to tell me your crush.” She jabbed Darling’s arm with a finger, fully aware of the White Knight’s habit of keeping secrets.

Darling softly sighed, feeling her face heat up. “Apple.” Better to say it bluntly - there wasn’t really any way of sugarcoating such an impossibility. 

Rosabella’s face seemed to fall, and she lightly pat Darling’s shoulder. 

“Yeah.” Darling’s voice was laced with sad humour. “It’s just - she’s so sweet, and smart, and dedicated.. And whenever I’m around her, I feel so soft and warm and good, and my heart pounds out of my chest.” A small smile formed on her lips as she spoke of Apple, feeling a ghost of that warmth. 

Rosabella’s head cocked slightly to the side, as she wore a curious smile. Darling arched a brow. “It’s just crazy.” Rosabella commented. “Girls can love other girls, just like they can love boys, but no one ever talks about it, or lets it happen, or..” She trailed off, sighing with annoyance. “Just another one of Ever After’s many injustices, I guess.”

Darling grinned, but there was little joy in it. “Gonna be hard to get people to sign a petition supporting homosexuality.” She spoke dryly, getting her frustration out through biting humour. “Grimm’d probably hexpel you on the spot, too.” She curled her knees up into her chest, and wrapped her arms around them. Godmother, what a royal pain. 

Rosabella frowned deeply, looking at the floor. “I’m so sorry, Darling.” Her voice cracked with hurt. “I’ll try to do all I can, to help. You deserve to love who you want just as much as everyone else Ever After.” Her hands clenched into soft, determined fists.

Darling felt her eyes fill with tears, but she blinked them back. “Thank you, Rosabella.” She leaned over, and pulled her Best Friend Forever After into a hug. Truly, she didn’t deserve someone as kind and as driven as Rosabella Beauty as a friend. 

-

And then came the Dragon Games. And an unexpected twist of fate.

Now, was Darling glad the Evil Queen escaped from her mirror prison and took over the school? No. But.. It had led to some revelations about Apple’s story.

Darling had never really known what her story would be. Her mother had told her that she’d know in time: whether she was kidnapped by whatever beast she was to be damsel to, or she found her True Love. Mother described True Love as something you knew at first sight. You looked into the eyes of the man and you just knew: you felt the book closing, the world disappearing around you. You felt like you could spend Forever After with them. 

Of course, Darling had never felt that with a boy. But with a girl, with Apple..

Back when she’d first met Apple, when she didn’t know, every chat with her had felt electric. They never spoke too often, but she adored her company. Her voice, her grace, her smiles sent electric currents of warmth through Darling. 

But then she figured out she liked girls. And with that, figured out she liked Apple. But it couldn’t have been True Love, she decided. After all, Apple’s True Love was Daring. Not Darling. Maybe True Love wasn’t even a thing, anyway. Ashlynn Ella and Hunter Huntsman were together, and they didn’t even have the same story. But at least they were a boy and a girl.

But when Apple was poisoned by the Evil Queen and Faybelle Thorn, and Apple fell into eternal sleep, it wasn’t Daring that woke her. 

It wasn’t supposed to be a kiss. Apple had been choking, and Darling had panicked. She had tried to do CPR. But CPR didn’t come with a flashing golden light and a feeling of such.. Completeness. And usually, CPR didn’t wake princesses from their enchanted sleep. Maybe someone should tell Briar Beauty that little trick worked.

Apple didn’t know immediately, but.. At Darling’s insistence, Raven had told her a couple days later. Apple avoided Darling after that. 

So, Darling gave her space. She needed time to figure things out, and Darling would never force her into anything. It was funny - that Darling had become the Royal, all for this change of fate, while Apple was now the Rebel, vehemently against it. Well, Darling assumed so, anyway. She didn’t know. There was the hope that Apple would fall for her, but.. Darling knew it was in vain.

At least she’d managed to have a sit down with her brothers, and tell Daring everything. She and Dexter had told him, quite sharply, that he couldn’t tell anyone about Darling’s sexuality, least of all their parents. He’d nodded, looking like a kicked puppy, and apologised for them having to insist that.

Darling supposed she shouldn’t have been so stubborn with forgiving Daring, but.. This was something she was uncharacteristically paranoid about people finding out.

But after the whole True Love’s Kiss thing with Apple, people assumed her sexuality. Well, they were right, but it was still a fairly baseless assumption, given that it was meant to be CPR. Maybe the whole thing would’ve been more contained if it weren’t for Blondie Lockes and her cursing MirrorCast. 

They heckled Apple for it all, sure, but Darling got it worse. Apple White would rise above it, too important to be brought down by these rumours. Darling Charming wasn’t so special. The whispers, the jealous words from Princes, the dirty looks Briar and Ashlynn would throw her in the halls; all of it hurt. But she kept her head held high. Her mother had trained her not to show that petty things like this got to her. 

But it didn’t stop it from being exhausting. People’d come to her constantly, asking for the truth about what happened in the Pixies’ Grove - Darling’s politely tell them it was intended to be CPR, and leave them with that. It wasn’t that simple, though. 

That was only demonstrated on the day that C.A. Cupid had dragged Darling up to her dorm. It was thankfully empty, as Blondie had hurried away to report on Crystal Winter’s visit to Ever After High. But that had only allowed Cupid to sit Darling down and give her (wholly unneeded) relationship advice. 

“Darling!” She chirruped, a hexcited grin on her face. “When’re you gonna talk to Apple?” She put a hand to her chest. “My best advice with things like this is to just come out and say it, y’know?” She excitedly winked. While Darling appreciated her enthusiasm, it was somewhat.. Misplaced.

“I’m going to wait until she’s ready to talk to me.” Darling was clear, precise, and decisive, wanting this conversation to be over so she could go the Heroics Grounds and swing a sword about to let off steam, be cursed whoever saw her. 

Cupid frowned, fidgeting. “Well, while that’s very chivalrous of you, Darling, I don’t think it’s the best course of action.” She’d turned serious quite quickly, some force behind her tone. “I don’t think Apple feels confident in moving forward either. You’ve got to take action, or there’s a good chance it’ll never happen.”

Already, Darling’s patience was wearing thin. Recalling sixteen years of manners training, she took a steady breath in. “Cupid, have you ever given advice to a same-sex couple?” She asked, doing all she could to sound as polite as possible. 

Cupid’s frown turned puzzled. “At my old school, yeah.” She nodded slowly, clearly not following. “Why do you ask?” She questioned, looking somewhat uneasy. 

“In Ever After, gay couples aren’t really.. Accepted, by most people.” Darling explained, gesturing lightly as she spoke. “Apple’s destined to be the next Queen, she can’t date another girl without heavy consequences.” She smiled weakly, arms dropping. “It’s not as easy as her just.. Accepting that she could be gay and pursuing that.” 

Cupid’s face fell, and she looked off, thoughtful. “You, ah, make a good point.” She sat quietly for a while, fumbling with her hands. “Well, it’s still worth talking to her, even if it isn’t romantically.” She said finally, looking up to stare Darling in the eye. “If neither of you make any move, you’ll both just be sad and unreconciled, and no one wants that.” 

Darling hummed softly, considering this advice. “I want to make sure she’s comfortable, but.. You’re probably right.” She reluctantly nodded, before getting to her feet. “Thanks, Cupid.” A small smile spread across her face. 

Cupid smiled warmly. “No worries!” There was a.. Strange gleam in her eye. “Thank you, as well.” 

Darling arched a brow. “What’ve you got to thank me for? All I’ve done is unload my gay crisis on you.” She chuckled lightly, becoming surprisingly laidback in Cupid’s company. She guessed she’d gotten so caught up in her White Knight business that she’d never found the time to make friends with a lot of the school’s population. 

Cupid just winked. “Don’t worry about it.” Darling supposed she wasn’t the only one with a fondness for keeping secrets. 

-

Thankfully for Darling, the only person on the Heroics Grounds was Chase Redford, who was practicing sweeping swings of his sword on some dummies. She could train in peace. Darling crept to a nearby sword barrel, pulled a light, easy blade, and rushed Chase. “Always keep your guard up, Redford!” She called out, wanting to give the poor chap a chance. 

Chase turned just quickly enough to block, face alight with surprise. He gritted his teeth as they clashed, before he attempted to counter. Darling parried, before knocking him to his feet. He huffed out a laugh, and applauded. “Amazing as always, White Knight.” He staggered back to his feet, grinning brightly. 

On instinct, Darling glanced around the area, ensuring that no one’d heard Chase call her that. Not that it mattered - everyone knew by this point - but old habits died hard. Once she’d confirmed there was nobody in the vicinity, she chuckled lightly. “No wonder you’re trying to get extra practice in.” She teased, strolling over to the dummy beside Chase’s, blade in hand. 

Despite the fact that Chase had blown Darling’s cover as the White Knight, she’d taken a liking to him. They both followed a similar code of knight’s honour, loved Wonderland, and he was good sparring practice - especially now that Daring was preoccupied with wallowing. Plus, they had something else in common.

“Y’know, Darling..” Chase’s face went as red as his namesake as he flubbed a strike at the dummy, twisting his wrist awkwardly. “Uh, your brother’s cute.”

They were both incredibly gay.

Darling raised her eyebrows, the conversation she’d had a few weeks ago with Rosabella replaying in her mind. “Which one?” Daring and Dexter both had their admirers, Daring obviously more so. 

This queer similarity was convenient, as Darling now had someone who shared a lot of her struggles. Someone who made her feel like she wasn’t a mistake for loving who she did.

“Daring.” Chase sputtered, before folding his arms defensively. “What?” Darling didn’t even realised the amused face she’d been making. “He’s pretty, and good with a sword, and-“

“You know what else he is?” Darling stuck her sword into the ground, and leant against it. Chase’s eyes lit up with curiosity. “Straight.” And she snuffed that fire out.

People assumed Chase and Darling were dating, and that was a rumour Darling was happy to let fester. While the thought of dating Chase made her feel violently ill for many reasons, it made people think she and Chase were straight, so needs must. 

Chase frowned, raising his sword again. “You just had to crush my dreams.” He complained semi-jokingly, throwing an aggressive swing of his sword at the dummy, striking dead on the target on its torso. “I mean, he’s one of the only cute single guys at this school, after all.” 

Darling raised her eyebrows, swinging her blade at her dummy. She almost severed its head with her force. “Single? Isn’t he dating Apple White?” She wanted to run to the nearest bathroom and either cry or throw up as soon as she said that. Godmother, she needed to get over it. 

Chase seemed to have noticed the hurt in her tone, and sighed softly. “Don’t subject yourself to that.” He chastised, giving Darling a light shove on the shoulder, in some attempt to kick her back into gear. He glanced upward, eyes lighting up. “Ah! Speak of the Devil, and she doth appear.” 

Darling looked up. Apple, accompanied by Holly and Poppy O’Hair, was making her way down a nearby path into the Enchanted Forest. If Darling wasn’t sure whether Apple knew she was there, she was certain of it when she noticed Apple was deathly pale, and keeping her eyes locked on the ground beneath her.

Darling knew she should’ve looked away, but she couldn’t help staring. Holly was speaking softly to Apple, trying to calm the poor thing down. Poppy waved at Darling and Chase, but she quickly stopped when Holly slapped her shoulder.

Apple tore her eyes away from the ground to stare back at Darling. In the moment their eyes met Darling heart pounded violently, and her face flushed. She quickly looked away. 

“Aren’t you gonna talk to her?” Chase asked, glancing down at Darling. “Y’know, after-“

“Have you seen how she looks?” Darling was surprised when her voice came out a panicked whisper. “I made her that pale, and afraid, and-“ She stopped herself, taking a deep breath. She wasn’t going to blow up in front of Chase. She gritted her teeth and swung her sword at the dummy. The strike was forceful but blind, and barely nicked the side of the dummy. 

“She’s your destined True Love!” Chase exclaimed, too loudly. “You should be pursuing-“

Darling swung her sword at him, if only to get him to shut up. He blocked quicker, this time, and countered better. Pushing all thoughts of Apple out of her mind, Darling focused, putting her all into this duel with Chase. 

After a while, she heard soft, hasty footsteps from Apple’s direction. She couldn’t help but turn to look. Had she been lingering, and run away-? She didn’t get much time to contemplate it before Chase knocked her down. “Keep your guard up, Charming!” He chuckled, grinning at Darling.

“Don’t get too cocky, Redford.” She warned, pulling herself back to her feet, and readying her blade for another round.

“Miss Charming. Mister Redford.” Before they could clash again, the deep, warning voice Darling didn’t know she’d been dreading sounded from across the Heroics Grounds. Darling glanced over to him. Headmaster Grimm. 

“Hello, Headmaster.” Darling smiled as sweetly as she could, trying to seem as Princessly as possible. That was a challenge when you were brandishing a sword and your dress was covered in dirt  
from running around in the forest, but she gave it her best effort. “Getting some fresh air?”

Grimm bristled, keeping half an eye on the blade in Darling’s grip. “Someone loosed a dragon in my office.” Darling had to hold back from grinning as she darted her eyes up to Grimm’s office. Purple fire had overtaken it, and Nevermore’s head poked out of one of the windows. She felt bad for the poor thing, but in the same breath, it was admittedly very funny.

“Oh, dear. I do hope Nevermore comes out safely.” Darling spoke in earnest, while still being all prim and proper. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Chase’s raw amazement at her ability to put on such an act. Years of practice. “In fact, I could saddle up Herowing right now and go to help-“

“Wholly unnecessary, Miss Charming.” Grimm’s tone was soft and dangerous, as he wore a looming glare. “In fact, I recommend you return to your dorms, before curfew arrives. After all, the Heroics Grounds is no place for you.” His eyes flashed. “In fact, why are you on the Heroics Grounds? You’re a Princess.”  
Something about that made something hot and angry rise in Darling’s chest. Unable to help herself, she played the fool. “Oh? I was getting Chase to help me with swordplay, since I’m the apparent hero of Apple’s story now.” She’d mostly said it to irritate Grimm, which was stupid, she acknowledged, but she wanted to watch him squirm. 

Grimm’s eyes went dark, and he straightened himself to seem taller. “You are not.” Oddly enough, his gaze flickered to Chase, as he gave him a pointed look: a look that said keep her in line. Darling wanted to kick Grimm in the shins, but held back.

Chase’s brow furrowed. “She kissed her awake, didn’t she?” If Chase was one thing, it was a stickler for the rules. “By the Storybook definition, they’re True Loves.” The first thing he’d done upon entering Ever After was learn its rules. He knew them better than Darling at this point, and he was adamant for them to be abided by. Darling hated rules, unless they were in her favour. Like now.

Grimm puffed up his chest, trying to become taller than Chase, despite the fact they were around the same height. “Two girls cannot be True Loves, Mister Redford. That’s simply unnatural.” The softness was seeping out of his voice, leaving raw anger and danger in its wake.

Alarm bells rang in Darling’s head as she realised the joke wouldn’t be funny for much longer. But she’d endured a lot, thanks to this man and what he represented. What he was now preaching to them. So she pushed it. “So you’re saying destiny was wrong? The Storybook was wrong?” 

She knew she’d struck a nerve. It was what she’d intended. His face went deathly white, and he grabbed her arm too forcefully, causing Darling to try and pull away before realising that was stupid. Grimm held his grip, and Darling’s stomach lurched. “I’ll escort you back to your dorms, Miss Charming.” With that, he began pulling Darling alongside him.

They walked in silence, and Darling focused on not throwing up. She let her eyes wander back to Grimm’s office. The fire was mostly gone, along with Nevermore. Black smoke billowed into the evening sky. Hopefully Nevermore was safe back with Raven.

Grimm didn’t speak. He didn’t look in Darling’s direction at all. Darling supposed she was thankful for that. All Grimm’d do was spout tripe about how Darling wasn’t a hero, she was a Princess, and should act as such. And that wouldn’t get them anywhere. Silence was far sweeter.

They reached the girls’ dorms, where Grimm stopped. “I’m sure you can find your way from here, Miss Charming.” His voice was much calmer, now he’d had time to cool down. “Goodnight.” He turned and left, thank Fairy Godmother.

Darling turned to the dorms, and wondered. Would Apple be back from her walk?

-

Darling’s gut tensed as she stood outside Apple and Raven’s dorm room. She felt uncharacteristically nervous. Gently, she knocked on their door. 

Raven answered, eyes widening in surprise as she saw her guest. “Darling?” She stayed still for a few seconds from shock, before stepping aside to let Darling in. “I, uh, definitely wasn’t expecting a visit from you today. What’s up?” She led Darling to her bed, sitting down and patting the space beside her. 

Nevermore was curled up in a blanket, small again, but she crawled into Raven’s lap once she sat down. Darling sat on the soft purple sheets, gaze wandering over to Apple’s half of the room. Empty. “Apple’s out on a walk with Holly and Poppy.” Raven explained, following Darling’s gaze. 

Darling bristled, nodding. “I see.” She spoke flatly. Around Raven, she felt a little more comfortable showing her emotions. Something about the Rebel helped her let her guard down. “Raven.. I need help.” She laced her hands together tightly, anxiety boiling in her gut. “I really need to talk to Apple about things, but I don’t want to be.. Invasive. Or, uh, pushy. Or anything like that.” She smiled nervously, pushing her thumbs together. 

Raven’s eyebrows raised, and she nodded. “Right. Well..” She flexed her fingers, looking off. “Apple hasn’t been so great.” Darling’s heart dropped. “I don’t think she’s upset with you, specifically, she’s more just.. Terrified. Not just of you, but of what this means.” She explained, voice somewhat raw with hurt. 

Darling stared at the purple sheets she was sat on. They were interwoven with ornate black patterns, befitting of Raven, yet.. Also not. Not telling her full story. “I talked to Cupid today.” Darling didn’t feel like speaking, but decided she had to. “She said that I had to take some kind of action, or this’ll never be resolved. But..” Her shoulders tensed. She took a shaky breath in, and then a sob out.

Darling was finally crying. 

“I don’t want to scare her any more than she’s already scared, or hurt her any more than she’s already hurt..” Her voice was cracked and pained and ugly and unprincessly, but she didn’t care. She didn’t bother rubbing at her tears. Let them fall. Airs and manners and courtship and Princessology didn’t matter - what mattered was Apple, not any of Ever After’s stupid rules.

She distantly felt Raven’s arms around her. Raven’s hand rubbing her back in soothing circles. “It’s gonna be alright, Darling.” The Rebel was pushing a lot of the hurt from her voice, focusing on keeping Darling together. Who would’ve guessed the daughter of the Evil Queen would be so kind? “I’ll talk to Apple, and try and get her to talk to you, okay?” She assured, in a soft, easing voice.  
“Thank you.” Darling was hunched forward, hands over her eyes. What would her Mother say if she saw Darling like this? ‘Pull yourself together, you’re a Charming. Princesses don’t cry like fools, Darling. You’re letting the family down.’ Who the hex cared about a family who treated her like that? And the last thing she wanted to think about was her Father’s thoughts on the matter. 

Raven’s mouth was quirked into a frown, as she peered quietly at Darling. “Darling, I’m really worried about you.” Her voice was low and serious, as she pulled back. She held Darling’s shoulders and pushed her up, so that their gazes were forcefully locked. “I’ve never seen you cry before.”

Darling choked out a watery laugh. “Is that a problem?” She questioned, taking Raven’s pointed stare as a challenge, and staring right back.

“I mean, yeah. We’re friends, but you never.. Well, you always seem so.. Bottled.” Raven stammered and tripped on her words as she tried to find the correct ones, but the ones she acquired struck a note with Darling.

Darling shrugged - unprincessly - and her eyes darted away. “Princesses are meant to be seen and not heard.” A particular favourite phrase of Father’s, especially, that one. It was the only excuse she could come up with. “That’s what I was always told when I was trying to unload my emotional baggage, so I presumed no one wanted to hear it.”

Raven’s mouth half opened in surprise, as her grip on Darling’s shoulders slipped. “Darling, that’s incredibly unhealthy.” Raven pointed out, indignant. Darling shrugged again. “Seriously. I don’t mind if you ‘unload your emotional baggage’-“ She did little air-quotes with her fingers, “-on me. And you should be heard as much as you like.” She put an arm around Darling’s shoulders. “Be you, Darling, not what everyone thinks you should be.” 

Darling laughed again, more heart in it this time. “I haven’t been struggling with being heard, Raven, trust me.” Raven grinned as Darling explained the whole quarrel she and Chase’d had with Grimm earlier. 

They fell into easier, lighter conversation - but that didn’t mean Raven’s little lecture had been lost on Darling. Quite the opposite, actually. Be you, not what everyone thinks you should be. Of course, she took that as a challenge. Came as habit. 

At the end of their chat, Darling sighed happily. “Thank you, Raven.” She mumbled. Mumbled! Princesses never mumbled. “You’re the best.” Warmth seeped into her voice, as she slowly sat up to smile at Raven. In a world of rules, pressures and injustice, the fact that such hexcellent people were by her side made Darling feel like there was a reason to keep going, keep fighting. 

Raven blushed, a hand going to her own face. “Ah, it’s nothing.” She smiled bashfully, fidgeting. “You and Apple are some of my Best Friends Forever After, of course I wanna help you guys.” She looked off, face still flushed bright red.

Darling chucked softly, face lighting up through the remnants of her tears. “Well, I’d better get going.” She stood smoothly, taking a steady breath in, and out. She pulled out a handkerchief to dry her tears, sobering. No one needed to know she’d been crying. “Thank you again, Raven.” She walked toward the door, before turning back to wink. “Charm you later.”

Raven waved goodbye, still hot and blushed.

-

Two agonising days later, Darling was sat alone in her dorm after classes, reading the ‘101 Ways To Court A Princess’ book again. Rosabella was gone, trying to find some kind of fix for the now raging winter outside, which prevented Darling from going outside to train. 

Rushed footsteps went past her door. Instinctively, she pulled a sword from behind the headboard of her bed and headed before the door. Given the amount of craziness that happened at this school, you could never be too careful. As she went to open it, she heard a soft crinkling as she stepped on something.

A letter.

She opened the door and looked out. Whoever had delivered it had gotten out of the hall as quickly as possible. She shut the door and picked up the letter, walking to her desk. She opened the envelope, finding a small note.

‘Meet me in the Pixies’ Clearing after classes tomorrow. We need to talk about this.’

The only signature was a drawing of an apple.

Darling’s heart skipped a beat. Hex, she’d been waiting a while for this. Excitement mixed with fear in her gut into a tense anticipation. On one hand, she’d finally be getting closure on how Apple felt about things. On the other, she may get confirmation of her worst fears about her feeling hurt and violated by The Kiss. It wasn’t like Apple had any consent to that, right?

But maybe Apple would see the positive side. Maybe it would be okay. Maybe Darling would get the Happily Ever After she’d wanted since she’d realised how she felt. 

Probably not, but a girl could dream.


End file.
